Nora Ephron, honorary Baltimorean

Dave Rosenthal

Nora Ephron, who died this week, will be remember for writing books such as "Heartburn" and movies such as "Julie and Julia." But around here, as Baltimore Sun columnist Susan Reimer notes, she'll also be remembered for helping to bring Baltimore to the big screen, as a setting for the classic comedy/love story "When Harry Met Sally." "Sleepless in Seattle."

Declaring that she couldn't possibly write a script based in a town without a major-league team, she changed the location to Baltimore. (Co-star Rosie O'Donnell, who had just appeared in "A League of Their Own," would throw out the first pitch at an Orioles game during filming.)

When the director objected to the new location, he was fired and she got the job — only her second movie.

"I loved Baltimore," she said when she returned to the city for the premiere in June 1993. "Crab cakes, soft-shell crabs. It's a wonderful city.

"The last day, we were filming on the dock at Fells Point ... and we had just eaten 40 crab cakes and soft-shell crabs, and I thought, I could have shot this movie forever," she told The Baltimore Sun. "We had the most wonderful time in Baltimore."